Human Impact Project

Carlyn Williams and her spouse Polyxenia Pantos were threatened by a caller claiming to represent the Department of Homeland Security after Pantos filmed ICE agents during a January 2026 enforcement operation in South Portland, Maine. The caller warned that people who film such activity "might get added to a domestic terrorism watchlist." The couple joined a federal lawsuit, originally filed by two other Maine residents, alleging DHS illegally collected data and threatened observers in violation of their First Amendment rights; DHS has denied operating any such database, and a judge denied the plaintiffs' request for a temporary restraining order in March. In an amended complaint, the couple's attorneys say that on March 16, while returning from a trip to Quebec City, Williams and Pantos were detained for an hour at the border by a Customs and Border Protection agent who requested registration information for Williams' vehicle despite the couple traveling in Pantos' car, which they argue indicates they were placed on a government watchlist.

Karla, an activist who publicly exposed medical neglect of a lesbian woman with cancer detained in Eloy, has herself been detained at the same facility. Activists are demanding her immediate release, protection from retaliation, and access to her hormones while in detention.

Jeanette Vizguerra-Ramirez, a 43-year-old Mexican immigrant rights activist who has lived in the U.S. since 1997 and is the mother of four daughters (three U.S. citizens), was detained by ICE in a Target parking lot on March 17, 2025, the day after she marched in a protest against federal immigration policies. In 2011 an Immigration Judge denied her cancellation of removal but granted voluntary departure; she appealed, but in 2012 traveled to Mexico to see her dying mother, which was treated as a withdrawal of her appeal. She returned to the U.S. in 2013 without inspection and was later apprehended; ICE then issued a document purporting to reinstate her prior removal order. She filed a federal habeas corpus petition on March 18, 2025, arguing the reinstatement was procedurally deficient and that no valid removal order supports her detention, and a judge barred her removal from Colorado or the U.S. while the case proceeds. After nine months in custody at the GEO Group's Aurora facility, her attorney argued before Immigration Judge Brea Burgie that she was denied a bond hearing for 180 days because of the administration's disapproval of her activism and that she is not a flight risk given her daughters, one of whom recently joined the Air Force and had sought immigration relief on her mother's behalf, which the government denied. The judge did not rule immediately. Vizguerra has previously taken sanctuary in a Denver church and been named one of Time's 100 most influential people.

A volunteer legal observer, identified as Brandon Sigüenza, was detained for eight hours after being arrested by ICE agents on January 11th while documenting enforcement activities near the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis. He and fellow observer Patty O'Keefe had followed agents' vehicles after learning ICE had pepper-sprayed another observer nearby; agents then surrounded their car, sprayed pepper spray into its air intake, shattered windows, and handcuffed Sigüenza without identifying themselves or giving instructions. The arrest occurred amid broader ICE enforcement operations in Minnesota, part of coordinated community efforts to document and warn residents about immigration enforcement activities, which Sigüenza said had already affected his students, his father, and his neighbors.

Hailey Lovgren, a 27-year-old veterinarian student, witnessed federal agents questioning a Somali man outside an apartment building and began filming the interaction. After the agents released the man, Lovgren drove away but said the agents' vehicles started following her without emergency lights activated, with one attempting to swerve into her vehicle. After she called 911, the agents allegedly followed her car for about 2 miles before driving away. Lovgren said the experience made her more interested in documenting agents in the future.

Alan Crenshaw, a 35-year-old Minneapolis resident, observed and filmed ICE arresting a U.S. citizen on December 9. As officers were leaving the scene, one agent leaned out of a car window and pepper sprayed Crenshaw. He is a named plaintiff in an ACLU lawsuit alleging ICE violated constitutional rights of observers and protesters.

Susan Tincher was arrested on December 9 while standing on a sidewalk observing an ICE raid in north Minneapolis. Officers pulled her to the ground, handcuffed her face-down in the snow, transported her to the Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling, shackled her legs, removed her wedding ring and boot laces, and held her in a cell for five hours before releasing her. She is one of six named plaintiffs in an ACLU lawsuit alleging ICE agents routinely violated constitutional rights of people protesting their actions.

John Biestman and Janet Lee, a married couple in their late 60s from Linden Hills, followed an ICE vehicle after a December 7 raid at Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Mary in Richfield. ICE agents boxed in their car, pointed guns at them, and threatened to arrest them. They are named plaintiffs in an ACLU lawsuit alleging ICE violated constitutional rights of observers and protesters.

Sophie Watso, a Dakota woman, was detained for more than 48 hours at Fort Snelling after encountering ICE officers while driving in Minneapolis. When she blew a whistle to alert others to federal presence, officers accused her of interference, broke her car window, and forcibly removed her from the vehicle. Fort Snelling is the same site where Dakota ancestors were imprisoned after the 1862 U.S.-Dakota War.

Lucia Webb, a 31-year-old Minneapolis resident, followed two ICE vehicles to the park-and-ride outside the Whipple Building on December 3. Officers boxed her in, surrounded her car, and threatened to arrest her. She is a named plaintiff in an ACLU lawsuit alleging ICE violated constitutional rights of observers and protesters.

Diana Sanchez Ledezma, a Stockton-area DJ known as DJ Reina Azteca with pending asylum and U-visa applications, was detained by ICE officers at a check-in appointment on December 18, 2025, despite being enrolled in the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program and requesting deportation herself. During processing at Otay Mesa Detention Center, she initially refused a medical screening and pregnancy test out of fear, having heard accounts of forced abortions and hysterectomies in detention, and was held unclothed in a cold cell before relenting. Over nearly four months in custody, she witnessed medical emergencies including strokes and fainting, reported inadequate care and poor food, and faced retaliation from guards after filing grievances; she also lost her deactivated DJ account and entire music library. A federal judge ruled in her favor in April 2026, finding ICE lacked authority to detain her, and she was released, though she has struggled to rebuild her music career while awaiting the return of her identification documents.

Carlos, a Venezuelan man with temporary protected status, was detained by ICE at a New Mexico immigration office in December 2025 after being called for what he believed was a reunification meeting with his 14-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter. Federal officials had previously vetted Carlos and told him his custody case was complete. When he arrived at the ICE office, officers attempted to force him to sign documents he did not understand. After refusing to sign, officers stripped his clothes, seized his belongings, and chained him by the neck, waist, and legs. Carlos said he felt "tricked" and that ICE "used my children to grab me." His two children had been in a federal shelter in Texas for nearly a year after crossing the border to reunite with him. According to reporting, the Trump administration's Office of Refugee Resettlement has begun coordinating with ICE to arrest parents and caregivers seeking custody of unaccompanied migrant children, reversing Obama-era restrictions on data sharing between the resettlement office and immigration enforcement.

A person warned their community that ICE agents were staging outside houses and then parked at a trolley station to observe. When ICE agents returned to the station, they attempted to detain the person, who fled because the agents were masked and refused to identify themselves. The person claims to be an American citizen and states that other people were also detained at the scene.

A federal judge is determining if ICE agents had probable cause to charge Miguel Angel Garcia Martinez, a U.S. citizen, with assault. Martinez fled from officers who began chasing him while he was documenting Border Patrol operations in Charlotte. Court video showed ICE agents planned to 'smash' into Martinez's vehicle during the chase.

A U.S. Border Patrol officer in Key Largo, Florida threatened to arrest a 64-year-old legal observer for following an unmarked CBP vehicle and recording the encounter, according to cell phone video posted on Instagram. In the footage, the officer warns the man he will be pulled over and arrested for "impeding an investigation" after following the vehicle from a distance the observer says exceeded 25 feet. The observer, part of a local group monitoring immigration enforcement in the Upper Florida Keys, referenced the recent fatal shooting of a woman by a CBP officer in Minneapolis during the exchange. Key Largo was previously the site of a December Border Patrol stop in which officers pulled a U.S. citizen from her car, and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Florida, ruled in 2000 that recording police is protected First Amendment activity.

Federal immigration agents arrested a man in a parking lot at Eastway Crossing shopping center in Charlotte while he was documenting their activities. The man, Joshua Long, was released from an FBI office six hours later. DHS claimed he was arrested for vehicular assault against a federal agent, which Long disputed.

Miguel Angel Garcia Martinez, a 24-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested by Border Patrol agents on November 16, 2025, while photographing and documenting their operations in Charlotte to warn immigrants of their locations. He was charged with using his van as a deadly weapon to assault, resist, and impede federal agents after driving away when agents approached his vehicle and attempted to open its door. According to court documents, an agent was injured breaking the van's window during the incident.

Two homeschooled brothers, Sam (16) and Ben (17) Luhmann, have been patrolling West Chicago and surrounding areas since mid-September to document federal immigration enforcement activity during Operation Midway Blitz. The brothers have had numerous encounters with ICE agents and have been threatened with arrest while documenting their activities. Their efforts represent part of a broader youth activism movement against the enforcement operation across the Chicago area.

British journalist and political commentator Sami Hamdi was detained by ICE at San Francisco International Airport on October 26, 2025, after his visa was revoked. Hamdi was on a speaking tour in the United States when detained. He was held in overcrowded detention facilities for 18 days before being released and returning to the UK on November 13. Trump administration officials stated his visa had been revoked, leading to deportation proceedings. Hamdi maintains he was legally in the US on a valid visa at the time of his detention. The Council on American-Islamic Relations reported on the detention.

An ICE agent pointed a gun at a female driver in Santa Ana who was allegedly recording him. A Fullerton police officer intervened at the scene and the ICE agent identified himself and provided credentials. The officer declined to assist, noting no crime had occurred, and the woman left the area.